No Speaking, and Toothbrushing?

Mary - posted on 11/05/2010
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My son is almost 17 months now...and still says NOTHING. He said mama for about a week, then just stopped. I'm getting concerned. We talk to him all the time and narrate everything for him like our pediatrician suggested, but still...nothing...Anyone having similar issues?

ALSO

Teeth brushing? My son has almost all his teeth in...am I suppose to be brushing them everyday? Once a day? This subject is super hazy for me, and I haven't received any good advice...

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Danielle - posted on 11/18/2010

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my son is 17 months to and used to say momma dadda up down and bye bye and then stopped for like 3 months but slowly he is starting to say them again so dont worry yet kids are sometimes slower then others aslong as he is responding to you and listning hes fine :)

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Brittany - posted on 12/12/2010

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If you are still concerned about the speech call your pediatrican and ask for a referal for a speech therapist to evaluate him. Could be he just needs a little speech therapy to get him talking more. Keep in mind it is very common for boys to develop language at a slower pace that girls.

As for the brushing. It is a good idea to get good dental hygiene habits starting now. They fluoride free tooth and gum cleaners and soft bristle toothbrushes. It isn't required but most dentists recommend that toddlers have their first dental appt at age 1. I'm sure they could set some recommendations for how often to brush.

my sons first word at 12 months was mama he said it for a while then stopped.He used to say no then stopped that word too.I took him to the pediatrician when he turned 18 months and the doctor is very concerned that he doesnt talk.My son also does different things like flap his arms and walk on his tippy toes.My friend told me to look up under autism.I was really scared for the first time in my life because he has so many syptoms of autism.Hope your child doesnt have any other factors.

my son talks but baby talk usually hes trying to hard out conversate with you but usually pretend we know what hes talking about im sure most mothers are like that? he used to say mama a lot now its dada but i figured its the words he can only say atm but they mean different things to him

If he understands what you're saying for the most part, I wouldn't worry too much. Do you read to him a lot? Do you have conversations with him? As a SAHM, I have no one to talk to but my son all day, so I just have (mostly one-sided, lol) conversations with him about anything and everything. He says a lot of words now, and really tries getting sentences together, regardless of how incoherent they are to us. Also, with my son anyway, if I ask him to say something, he refuses. If I don't, he won't shut up, lol.

As for teethbrushing, at least once a day, but better to do it twice a day. We started as soon as he had a tooth (with just water), but now that he has a mouthful, we use training toothpaste, which he adores. If he's skiddish, let him chew on the toothbrush for a while. They love that!

My son is the same age and also isn't saying words. I asked his pediatrician for a hearing test and sure enough he has moderate hearing loss, probably due to congestion in his ear and what the dr has called mild ear infections. Usually this can be relieved by having tubes put in their ears, then he can hear clearly and start to form words correctly. I am pediatric nurse and I felt it was important to rule out any problems with his hearing so if that was the cause of his delay it could be treated and he could then catch up. He does a lot of sign language but hearing him form words will be great in the future. Best of luck to you!

well I have a daughter whose about the same age! I don't think there's anything wrong with ur son so far! I mean Lilly use to do that she has not said mom or mama since she was 6 months, she says other words, but I read in a parents magazine that sometimes kids learn a certain word and action and will continue to repeat it until they have it down packed. Then they won't say it again for a while b/c they like to move on to learning something else! oy vey I know! as long as he at least babbles. also remember boys are different then girls and no two children are a like he may be shy or he may like to do things rather then say it! It's more about character and maybe even gender! Just enjoy him for now b/c once he starts talking you won't be able to shut him up! LOL As long as he seems aware of his surroundings and so on and so forth, but if ur really concerned ask ur Pediatrician! Also! teeth brushing should be done every day if you can twice a day. since he's still a baby use non floride toothpaste or just water would suffice if ur tyke has a stinky breath use a rice size amount or toothpaste and brush with a soft bristle brush! Up and down!

my 17 month old son uses baby babble to speak and he says momma and some other words i would not be to worried about it but the place to have a free screening i would look in to it if you are that concerned

My 17 month old son's doctor isn't concerned, but his daycare provider said he doesn't say much and said screening is free. My son says a few words and I feel like the screening is just me being overanxious, but it cannot hurt. Better to know for sure so you can help them be more successful in life. Also, just the prescreening questions put my mind more at ease because I realized how much he does do. As far as teeth brushing goes my pediatrician said to do it at least once a day, morning or evening, but it is better to do twice.

Oh, yes, should've also mentioned that we were using sign language with my 4yo then, too. It can be formal ASL or you can just make up your own, as long as you clue in any childcare providers what his signs will mean. In my older nephew's case, he was ECSTATIC to learn sign language, finally being able to communicate with people, wanted to learn tons, and picked it up really fast. In my older son's case, we only needed a few signs so he could tell us what he wanted. We always start with "please" (rubbing your chest) but my 1yo also knows "thank you" and he used to use "more" now and then. It's up to you and what you think he'll want to say. Just make the signs really simple.

Speaking -- my older son was the same way, didn't talk at ALL (just noises) till he was 2. With nephews who were speech-delayed, I'd started wondering (and my sister had started hinting) about speech therapy. But literally after his second birthday, his speech took off. Now, at 4yo, everyone (Sunday school teachers, preschool teachers, and grandparents alike) says how good his vocabulary is, and how well they can understand him, how clear his speech is. Give your guy some time...they all have their own pace, even if it seems so far off base. If he's cool in every other area, it probably just means he's concentrating on other things. In my older son's case, he found it much more important to learn how to throw a football than learn to talk. :)Brushing - my younger son, the 1yo, has lots of teeth too, but I don't brush them all the time. In fact, I just bought his toothbrush and toothpaste a couple weeks ago. I've done it once so far (which of course he hated) and I plan to do it when I notice he needs it. My mom said she never brushed our teeth till we could do it for ourselves, lol. I've done my other kids this way, too - ages 7 and 4 - and their teeth are great. Don't sweat it. Hth!

What a relief!! Thank you so much for posting this. A few people have commented to me recently that my daughter should be talking. I was OK with her only saying a few thing but now I've started to worry a bit. She's been doing sign language for quite a while now but she doesn't seem to pronounce words correctly. When she says please it comes out as ease and the same with cheese. And instead of saying down, she say either ga or da and will motion down. She'll say "hi" a thousand times to the same person though, but that's about it. She definitely understands us when we talk to her, she just can't seem to verbalize. I planned on speaking with her Pedi at her 18 month appt in a few weeks. I'm hoping it's just a matter of her needing a little more time.

my daughter loves to have her teeth brushed. i brush them when shes done eating breakfast and before bed (and if i forget to before bed, she reminds me its pretty cute). i sit her on the counter in the bathroom and i brush them first to make sure theyre done properly and then i give her the brush and she brushes her own teeth while i brush her hair and brush my own teeth. shes even starting to spit in the sink and puts her own toothbrush back in the holder when we're all done. make a game of it at first if he doesnt like it and he'll get used to it. for the talking, my daughter has just started to speak english. she still baby babbles endlessly and shes obviously saying something but we just cant understand it. but now she says quite a few words. her cousin (theyre both 16 months) has been understandably speaking for months. kids just develop differently. my daughter also knows the sign for milk and drink and soother (she uses the sign for drink the most).

My son has an evaluation for speech and language development tomorrow. He does not say mama or dada. He has a couple words. I say it is better to be safe than sorry. Alta Mira will do an evaluation for free (theyre coming to our house as well). Something to think about to ease your mind and worries. As for teethbrushing....morning and night with a toothbrush and after meals use a washcloth so germs don't stay. As soon as your baby has 12 teeth he can see the dentist. Rilo goes on Dec. 1

Does your son respond to you? Is he using baby babble? If so I wouldnt worry yet! Keep up narrating and have you thought of using sign language? I have so many success stories using sign language, its easier then using words so children can sign to communicate before they have the abiolity to use words. My daughter has just recently starting using words consisitently but has been signing for months. We use the signs for more, all done, eat, milk, please, and thank you. Good luck and dont worry unless he has signs of hearing problems or unless he is over 20months and not using any word(s) consistently. Toothbrushing....I do before nap and before bed time. Makes more sense to me. I started brushing her teeth before she had any, I used the gum massager thingy. Now she uses a tooth brush, and even sticks out her tongue so I can brush that. I have no problems. Make it fun. Let him see u brush and you act like your having loads of fun doing it. We sing a song, brush brush brush your teeth, brush em everyday, thats the way to healthy teeth, keep cavaties away, brush brush brush your teeth, brush them every day tops bottoms in between get them all nice and clean!!! If he gives you problems at first have him watch u a couple of times while letting him have the brush n play with it, then slowly ask if mommmy can have a turn and see if he lets u. Oh and use toothpaste safe for swallowing, I use orajel toddler training toothpaste. Good Luck!